Crazy Train
by cakelover365
Summary: It's the belief of many that if a parent makes a mistake, it's their job to make up for it. Unfortunately, parents are unavailable at the moment, so two estranged brothers will have to do.
1. Chapter 1

_Her eyes were like a sculpture, clearly mean to convey some sort of emotion, yet so lifeless. Even though she was slowly being engulfed the flames creeping up behind her, one could only focus on her eyes. They were practically piercing through the tiny baby in the crib._

 _She was pinned to the ceiling, sprawled over the dingy roof of the building, with some imaginary force keeping her suspended in the air. Clearly, it was something supernatural at work in the moment, but it never truly felt that way. The death wasn't natural, but it wasn't entirely out of the ordinary either. Though none of the family would ever admit it, it almost felt that she was meant to be there._

 _Dean and John shielded their eyes from the fire. They found some assurance in knowing that Sam was safe and phoning the police, but they were still left with the challenge of what confronted them. Dean, without considering his father, reached into the crib under the ceiling and grabbed his sister, stealing one final look at his father, before bolting out of the door. He wasn't entirely sure if he should have left John alone, but he knew that it would've been what he wanted._

 _Sam stood in the yard, watching the smoke from his house transform from an almost cozy coil to a curtain of smog and ash, now blocking out the moon. His vision became somewhat blurry with fatigue and confusion, but he could make out the distant shape of his older brother sprinting towards him, his baby sister in tow. He would've asked where dad was, but no words could come out of his mouth, as he just stood, awestruck, at his burning house._

 _Dean had come to a full stop, and, without stopping to think, grabbed his brother clung to his sister, still panting heavily. There they stayed for what seemed like the entire night, never fully comprehending exactly what was going on._

 _Sam finally managed to push his brothers arm to the side, and stole a peak at the sky. His dad was there, though he didn't know how. The smoke had now completely diverged from above the house. Sam could see the moon again._

Sam grasped his cup, though one could barely call it grasping. He brought it to his lips and flung his head back, expecting to feel the sweet sensation of having another tiny burst of energy that would disappear in two minutes but would allow him to function for at least a moment.

His face fell. He titled his cup back even further, clinging to the hope that maybe he just hadn't tried hard enough. He sighed and put his cup down. He would have to accept the truth: he was out of coffee.

Sam peered at his watch. 1:30 in the morning. There was no way that any coffee shop would be open. He looked to the door. Dean wouldn't be back for at least an hour, though he might buy something to eat on his way back. Sam peered out the window. The inky sky was speckled with stars, and even a couple familiar combinations, though they were all outshined by the moon.

 _"Wait"_ Sam thought to himself. The fatigue was wiped away, and the light returned to his eyes as he picked himself up from his chair. His jacket waited for him on the coat hanger near the door. His fingers searched for the pockets, hoping to land on…

" _Could…"_ Sam fished out a picture, one that he never thought that he would seriously consult again. He focused on the picture, but his feet, now on autopilot, carried him back to the table that he had been researching at. He collapsed into the chair, his eyes scanning the faces in the photo.

" _It was me."_

Dean put his head in his hands and sighed. Of course it was Sam. It had to be Sam. Why wouldn't it have been Sam? Why couldn't he have seen the signs before? How could he have been so stupid? Now they had yet another unnecessary tragedy on their hands because they couldn't stop to think things through.

"Well… what do you wanna do?" Dean couldn't face his brother. He wasn't sure if he felt mad, sad, or all of them at once, but now he was certain that he didn't want Sam here at the moment. He didn't want to be alone, just not with his brother.

 _"For once, Sam, can something not be about you?!"_ Dean found diminutive comfort in knowing that his thoughts were his own, though they could be very easily interpreted by Sam.

"I… I don't know. This is just-" Sam clearly was not going to drop it at the moment.

"Yeah… yeah..."

" _Goddamnit, just shut up Sam, just shut the hell up!"_ Dean took a deep breath.

"I'm… uh… gonna go out for a bit. Want anything?"

" _Nice excuse, there. Just get out of the house."_

"Uh, no, hey, are you-"

Before he got to respond, Dean's jacket had disappeared from the coat hanger and the door had slammed. Sam leaned his head back in the chair and heard the familiar hum of the Impala outside of the motel.

" _Just, get out of the house…"_

"Hey, a couple found murdered in their home with some old Roman words carved into their chest. Could be worthwhile." Sam put the newspaper down and took a long gulp of the coffee that he had waited so long for.

"Sammy…" Dean's voice was still rife with annoyance, "have you forgotten about our estranged family member, ya know, the one that we _really, really, really_ owe an apology to at the moment?" Dean's voice sent of the signal that Sam was playing a dangerous game, attempting to ditch what Dean considered one of their most important cases yet. This signal was, as always, promptly ignored by Sam.

"I know, I know, but… can't she wait a bit? I mean, it's important, but there are people out there, dying right now. And she's not going anywhere. I just think-"

"No, no, I get it. Duty before family. Of course."

"Dean, I value family as much as you do, but we can't just ditch what we're supposed to be-"

"You mean, what we're supposed to be doing as hunters, Sam. Well what about brothers?! What are we supposed to do then?!"

"We have a job, Dean, and though that sometimes requires us to give up family, we can't just ignore the murders of innocents who we're obligated to protect!"

That was the end of the argument. Of course, as is typical with the Winchesters, several insults and attempts at refutation followed, but in essence, the argument ended at helping others. For now.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Dean?"

"Sam?"

"Don't we have a relative that we should be visiting right now?"

"They're dying out there, Sammy. Are you really concerned with a family member that we haven't seen in years when there are innocent people dying?"

"Okay, okay, calm down, we'll go. Just giving a suggestion."

"Sammy?"

"Yeah?"

"Well now that all that's over, do you think we should-"

"It's hardly over Dean, we're just safe for now. Look, I'd like to see her, but I think that maybe we should wait a bit. I just don't think that it's a good idea to drag her into this sort of thing. Not now."

"Alright, you're the boss."

"Dean? Do you think that maybe we should go find her now?"

"Sammy, you said it yourself, we don't want to drag her into this."

"But if we don't go and find her then the demons might."

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it. For now, let's just try to look out for ourselves."

"Sammy?"

"Yeah?"

"We've been some lousy brothers."

"…yeah…"

"I understand that you're not the only Winchester alive at the moment."

"What are you talking about?"

"As if you don't know. Your little sister out in-"

"Man, you can hardly see the metal on this knife any more."

"He's right, you know. We should-"

"Yeah, and he's also dead. Help me clean up."

"I do not understand. If you are aware of your relation to this person, and you hold familial relations in such high regard, then why do you not seek her out."

"Because, Cas, I just don't think that we're in the right place at a moment to take another person into our lives, and put ourselves in theirs."

"Spoken like a true chick-flick would."

"Shut up."

"Dean, do you think that we should go out and find them? I mean, you and I have always wanted a normal childhood, and-"

"But we're Winchester's, Sam. We don't do normal. When they were born into this family, things were never going to be normal."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you."

"Ah! So there is another Winchester. How interesting… Once word gets out about this, why-"

"Good luck with that, you son of a bitch."

"You can't escape it! You can try to destroy me and all of the others as much as you want, but one day, someone will find out, and they, they-"

"I always like them better when they're dead."

"Dean, you know we're gonna have to do it some time. We can't just ignore this."

"I know, Sammy, I know. But not now, alright?"

"Dean."

"But if we go in through this entrance, we can-"

"Dean."

"And from here, we can deactivate the cameras-"

"Dean."

"This lock should be easy-"

"Dean."

"What, Cas?!"

"I've heard the angels. They have been talking. It's about your sister."

"Why?"

"The demons know, Sam."


End file.
